- State Department explores youth partnership with Okoa Vijana.
- Programme to support youth cooperatives and savings groups.
- Partnership targets skills, finance, markets and enterprise development.
The State Department for Co-operatives is exploring a strategic partnership with Okoa Vijana Initiative to strengthen youth participation in Kenya’s cooperative movement.
Principal Secretary for Co-operatives Patrick Kilemi said the discussions with Okoa Vijana Initiative, led by CEO Gideon Mereru, focused on opportunities to empower young people through cooperatives and savings groups.
According to Kilemi, the proposed partnership would support cooperative education and provide technical guidance to youth on the formation, registration, governance and compliance of cooperatives.
He added that the partnership would also focus on capacity building for youth-led cooperatives and savings groups to enable them to develop sustainable enterprises and improve their livelihoods.
Inclusivity remains one of the key challenges facing the cooperative sector, Kilemi said, particularly the limited participation of young people and women in productive economic activities.
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He said there was a need for deliberate efforts to mobilise more young people and women into cooperatives while equipping them with the skills required to manage enterprises effectively.
“The question is how we deliberately mobilise them into cooperatives, equip them with the right skills, improve access to finance and markets, and create viable pathways for enterprise development and sustainable livelihoods,” Kilemi said.
He identified stronger outreach, financial literacy, cooperative education and enterprise incubation at the grassroots as key interventions needed to increase youth participation.
Kilemi said there was significant potential for the State Department and Okoa Vijana Initiative to collaborate on the proposed Kenya Youth Cooperative Empowerment Programme.
He also proposed piloting a Youth Cooperative Ambassadors Programme while exploring stronger linkages with Savings and Credit Co-operative Organisations (Saccos), cooperative societies, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) programmes, county governments and other strategic partners.
The partnership will also consider research, documentation and policy dialogue aimed at deepening youth participation in Kenya’s cooperative economy.
By Bernard Magada
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